One Simple Mistake
by Sapphire1031
Summary: In an attempt to boost the wizard population, the Ministry of Magic has created a new Marriage Law. Hermione decides to fight it and somewhat succeeds. Now, three years later, she finds out that she has caused an innocent man three years of his life. Will she ever be able to fix her one simple mistake?
1. Prologue

** Disclaimer ~ ****As it has been since I started writing Dramione fanfics, I do not own anything but the plot. All recognizable and even some unrecognizable characters belong to their creator JK Rowling.**  


* * *

**_One Simple Mistake_  
**

**Prologue**

* * *

**Ministry Announces Marriage Law**

** _by Sylvia Fawcett_**

_We have heard it talked about for the past year, however this reporter can honestly say that I never truly thought it would come to pass. As of late last night the Ministry of Magic signed off on a new law that it their terms, would save our dwindling population. According to Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt, the wizarding population has dropped 60% in the past six years, most being lost in the three years that He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named returned. Though he was defeated three years ago, our population has yet to recover, with most births, mostly those of pure-blooded marriages, resulting in the birth of squibs. When asked why the ministry felt the need to take such archaic actions, the minister gave this statement._

_ "We at the ministry have pondered over this problem for the past three years, and after long nights of heavy deliberations, we have found there to be no other answer. While a portion of our society still lives by Voldemort's ideals, our magical heritage will continue to die out."_

_ So what will this law mean for you? The law reads as follows:_

_ On this day, the first of June in the year two thousand and three, per order of the Ministry of Magic, Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt, Chief Warlock Elric Woodcroft, and the entire Wizengamot, the following law will go into effect immediately. _

**MARRIAGE LAW 103179**

_All eligible witches and wizards will be required to marry a witch or wizard assigned to them by the ministry. Eligibility requirements and law bylines are as stated_

_ ***ALL** wizards and witches ages 17 to 30 must submit to the law unless one of the two following situations apply._

_ ***The witch or wizard is already married. Couples who are already married, no matter what their blood status, cannot and will not be forced to separate. All previous, legal marriage bindings shall stand.**_

_ ***The witch or wizard is already engaged by choice. All couples who were engaged, by their own choice, prior to the effective law date of June 1, 2003 may proceed with their engagements but must marry within the laws guidelines. This also applies to any Veela who have been mated. All those claiming to be of Veela blood must submit proof of claim and give name of mate if known. All parental made arranged marriages are here by null and void, with the new law taking precedence. **_

_ ***NO** pure-blooded or muggle-born witch or wizard will be matched with someone of their own blood status. This is to insure less emphasis on blood purity and a smaller percentage of squib births._

_ ***ALL** couples will be paired based on their Annual Wizarding Record (AWR) for the best chance at compatibility._

_ ***ALL** couples must be wed within six to eight months of receiving their official letter containing the name of their betrothed. Wedding dates should be decided on and requested in writing no later then two weeks from the arrival of their official letter. A ministry official will be present at all weddings._

_ ***ALL **couples will be required to conceive a child within the year following their marriage. Due to the possibility of infertility, all couples will be required to submit to a physical exam at St. Mungo's prior to their wedding date. Any witch or wizard who does, in fact, have a fertility issues will be attended to by an expert Healer, and undergo any type of fertility treatment that the Healer deems fit for that individual's situation._

_ ***THE LAW IS MANDATORY!** Any eligible witch or wizard who chooses to refuse to abide by the new law will be punished with the following:_

_ ***All non-complying, pure-blooded wizards and witches shall be arrested and locked in Azkaban until they choose to comply with the new law or until their death.**_

_** *All non-complying, muggle-born wizards and witches shall have their wands snapped, memories wiped, and be banished from the magical community forever.**_

_ With such strict rules and harsh punishments, one can only imagine what the response from our community will be, especially from societies elite. Pure-bloods Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson, Draco Malfoy, and Daphne Greengrass, along with muggle-borns Justin Finch-Fletchley, Penelope Clearwater, and Hermione Granger to name a few. Though no matter what members of our society may think about the law, one thing is for certain. Everything is about to change._

* * *

**A.N.~ Hey everyone, thank you for joining me again in another Dramione journey. This is going to be a marriage law fic like no other, or at least I hope so. I was inspired to write this after reading a lot of other ML fics that all seemed to be the same plot, there is a marriage law put into effect and they all just take it without anyone trying to fight it. I have only seen one other author really try to take this same approach and that is Revjo and the story is Laws of Love. Let me know what you think about the law.**


	2. An Archaic Law

**Disclaimer ~ As it has been since I started writing Dramione fanfics, I do not own anything but the plot. All recognizable and even some unrecognizable characters belong to their creator JK Rowling.**

* * *

_**One Simple Mistake**_

**Chapter One: An Archaic Law**

**_Ministry Of Magic Headquarters, Whitehall, London_  
**

**_June 1, 2003_**

* * *

If one were to ask for a person to describe Hermione Granger, they would get a plethora of answers from various sources.

If you asked that question, to anyone who had ever heard of Hermione Granger but did not actually know her, they would answer the same. Hermione Granger is one third of the Golden Trio, the best friend of wizarding world savior, Harry Potter and the brains that helped him defeat the dark wizard Voldemort.

If you asked her former professors, they would tell you that she was a studious girl, extremely intelligent and hard-working, and the brightest witch to walk the halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry since founder Rowena Ravenclaw was there.

Acquaintances, including former classmates and fellow employees, would most likely call her levelheaded, book-smart, extremely focused, and quite logical to show her more favorable traits, while some may say they found her slightly bossy, a bit of a know-it-all, and at times quite stubborn as her more unfavorable ones.

Then there is the handful of people who are truly close to her. Her family and closest friends would tell you she is unfailingly dutiful and loyal to them, extremely protective, and a person who could be counted on. They would tell you, that she has an extremely compassionate side to her personality and is quick to help others, especially those who are defenseless.

One thing though, that everyone would agree on about Hermione Granger, is that she would always fight for what she believed in, whether it was fighting for a muggle-borns right to be apart of the magical community, or working for the rights of underprivileged non-humans. So it came as no surprise to anyone when the witch in question came storming through one of the atrium fireplaces, with a look of pure disgust and fury plastered across her face. Ministry employees stopped to watch as the angered witch headed towards the lifts. Her work robes were billowing out behind her, her long chestnut curls, bushier then usual, bounced with every forceful step and her fists, one of which seemed to have a crushing hold on that days Prophet, were clenched tightly at her sides. It was quite obvious, Hermione Granger was pissed and no one with a sense of self-preservation wanted to be in the path of that particular storm. Everyone watched in silence as the angry witch entered one of the lifts, and as the doors shut some of those employees closest to her could hear her say only two words. "Level One."

* * *

Hermione barely noticed as employees hurried to get out of her way as she stormed through the ministry. In fact one would have to believe that even if she had have noticed, she honestly would not have cared at all. The only thing Hermione cared about this miserable morning was the atrocity that she had seen written in the paper.

Her day had started fine. She woke up, had a lovely morning jog before taking a quick shower and preparing for work. She had just sat down in the kitchen with her morning tea and bumbleberry scones when an owl arrived with her morning Prophet. The front page headline was enough to make her drop the tea cup she was holding, and scream out profanities that no one would ever believe came from her mouth. By the time she had finished the article she had already come up with at least three possible ways of killing Kingsley and not get caught. The reporter had gotten one thing right, the law was archaic and the fact that they thought that this was the only option showed that the ministry was being run by closed minded idiots. There was no way Hermione was going to take this lying down. She did not help defeat the darkest, most psychopathic, wizard alive just to have the Ministry make decisions for her life. No bloody way.

She walked purposely towards Kingsley's office, her sensible heels clicking sharply against the highly polished dark wood floor. She passed the offices of Senior and Junior Undersecretarys to the Minister for Magic Percy Weasley and Penelope Clearwater respectively, both of whom were staring at her from their doorways. Percy took a step towards her, as if to try and stop her from reaching her destination.

"If you value your chance to birth children Percy, then I would suggest you rethink that thought." She said calmly, her eyes not once leaving the large mahogany, double doors at the end of the hall. He obviously took her warning to heart because he stopped in his tracks, turned around and hurried back into his office.

"Give him hell Hermione. For all of us." Penelope said with a small nod of her head. She too would be affected by this farce of a law and she hoped Hermione was able to put a stop to it. Penelope's words only infused Hermione with more purpose. This was not just about her. This was about a whole community of people who would have their lives changed for them against their will. Hermione reached the double doors which displayed a gold name plate with the words MINSTER of MAGIC in bold black writing, and pushed them open, ready for a fight.

* * *

"No other choice? No other bloody, fucking choice! Are you kidding me, Kingsley! Of course there are other choices!" Hermione had tried her very hardest to be calm and levelheaded when she first entered the office, however after about thirty minutes of "calm" discussion which involved Hermione explaining why the idea was completely preposterous while Kingsley pretended to listen, she finally lost it.

"Language, Miss Granger." Kingsley said, in what Hermione considered to be quite a condescending tone, incensing her even more. Kingsley sighed. "Our world is on the brink of extinction, Hermione! More and more squibs are being born and while the pure-bloods continue to shy away from the half-bloods and muggle-borns the more likely we are to see less magical children born! This is the only way!" He exclaimed slamming his fist down on his desk.

"So let me see if I have this correct." She said, starting to pace back and forth, in thought. "The magical community is on the brink of extinction due to the fact that almost the entire pure-blood community refuses to leave behind their blood purity beliefs, most likely because no one has taught them any differently. Am I correct in this theory?" Kingsley looked at her oddly, but gave a nod of his head.

"Yes, but ..."

"And because of this," She said, not giving him a chance to respond. "You and the rest of the Wizengamot think that the best thing to do is pair these pure-bloods with the very people they hate. Some of which they probably tried to kill during the war! Not to mention imprisoning and banishing those who choose not to follow through with it, thus only diminishing our population even more!" She through her hands up in frustration.

"You of all people know that all the death eaters have been rounded up and are securely locked up in Azkaban." Hermione let out a harsh laugh at this.

"Oh please Kingsley." She said shaking her head. "You can explain your ideas, tell me your theories on how this is going to work, but do not and I repeat DO NOT insult my intelligence. You know as well as I do that not everyone who supported Voldemort was marked as a death eater, and that they are still walking the streets of Diagon Alley looking down their noses and cursing us in their minds. You might as well be leading lambs to slaughter with this law. How many deaths or sudden unexplained disappearances are going to happen when this law is in full effect."

"Damn it Hermione! Why can't you see ..."

"See what Kingsley? That this whole thing is outrageously inappropriate not to mention completely archaic! I have never been so ..."

"ENOUGH!" Hermione jumped at the sound. She had not been looking at him during her rant but as she looked up at him now, she could see her own fury etched on his face. "The law has been voted on and has been passed. You, like every other eligible witch or wizard will receive a letter announcing your betrothed and you WILL obey the law Hermione, or you WILL find yourself wandless, obliviated, and banished from the magical world forever. Do I make myself clear, Miss Granger?" Hermione glared at him, so furious that she was visibly shaking.

"You do not have the right to ..."

"Actually, Miss Granger, as one of the law makers of this world, I do have the right." He sneered at her. "Now," He said going and sitting behind his desk. "I have important matters to attend to and since this discussion is now over you can leave." Hermione's eyes widened with fury, but instead of saying anything, she turned on her heel and headed towards the door, stopping when she reached it to look back at him.

"This is not over Minister."

"I beg to differ Miss Granger. It is official, you either marry or are banished and there is nothing you can do to change it." He said, not even bothering to look up from the paperwork in front of him.

"We'll see about that." She said before turning and exiting the room, slamming the door loudly behind her.

* * *

Hermione tapped her fingers along the top of her cherry wood desk. After she had left Kingsley's office, she headed straight to her office on level five, hoping that doing a little work would help calm her down. Unfortunately though, the mornings events had left her in a rather preoccupied and frustrated mood, making any chance of getting any work done impossible.

"Arg!" Hermione let out a frustrated growl, throwing the proposal she had been trying to read for the past hour, down onto the desk. Hermione sat back in her chair and ran her fingers through her hair.

_Who in the hell does Kingsley and the rest of the Wizengamot think they are? Trying to control peoples lives. Making decisions for them._ She thought angrily. _And Kingsley! Speaking to me as if I were a child. As if I did not have a brain in my head. I am Hermione Granger damn it! Brightest witch of my generation, a member of the trio who helped save their sorry arses from one of the darkest wizards ever to live and he acts as if I am just some simpleton muggle-born. _

Hermione leaned forward and banged her fist against her desk. There was no way in hell she was going to allow the ministry to tell her who she was going to marry or try to strip her of her power and memories. She had rights, both wizard and muggle and she was not going to take this lying down.

_There has to be something, some kind of loophole. _

After another thirty minutes of standing around thinking, she was more frustrated then before. Throwing her hands up in the air, she once again yelled out in frustration. "Come on Hermione! It cannot be this hard to find a loophole. They are found all the time in muggle laws." She stopped pacing, something she had not even realized she had been doing, when she was suddenly hit with a thought. Running over to where she kept her files, she searched for the one concerning the agreement between the Ministry and the British Prime Minister. As head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Hermione had access to all treaties between wizarding London and all other wizarding communities in the world, along with the treaty with muggle London. After finding and reading the treaty, Hermione could feel her frustration fading away and a large smile graced her face.

"Check mate!"

* * *

**A.N. ~ Well here it is, chapter one. I would love to hear your thoughts on it and the next chapter should be up within a week. Have a great day!  
**


	3. Loophole

**Disclaimer ~ ****As it has been since I started writing Dramione fanfics, I do not own anything but the plot. All recognizable and even some unrecognizable characters belong to their creator JK Rowling.**

* * *

_**One Simple Mistake**_

**Chapter Two: Loophole  
**

**_Muggle Prime Minister's Office_**

**_10 Downing St, Westminster, London_  
**

**_June 1, 2003_**

* * *

Situated on Downing Street in the City of Westminster, London, is an almost three hundred year old home with almost one hundred rooms inside. Number 10, as it is colloquially known in the United Kingdom is one of the most famous addresses in the world, as it is the headquarters of Her Majesty's Government, and home to the British Prime Minister. In fact, if you happened to be walking down the famous street that day, and chose to look up at the building, you would have caught a glimpse of the Prime Minister herself. Prime Minister Patricia Ashcroft was a short and slightly plump woman, with dark sapphire colored eyes, and long, thick, black hair, that she kept pulled back in an elegant twist. She had cream colored skin, prominent cheekbones, and full lips. The early sign of crows feet and the spattering of gray throughout her hair were the only signs of her age, and even then she still looked years younger than she was. She now stood in her office awaiting the arrival of one of her colleagues from the "other" world as she liked to call it. Learning about the world of magic that was hidden within the depths of London had intrigued her. She had always been an open minded person and always felt as if there was more out there then met the eye. To learn that she had been right in her beliefs and that she was one of the very few non-magical people to know about its existence had given her a sense of superiority, even more so then what came with the job description. A knock on the door alerted her to the fact that her guest had arrived. "Enter!" She called out and watched as the door opened and her guest walked in. Over the past few years Patricia had come to know Miss Hermione Granger. Any time there was an incident involving their world and the "muggle world" as they called it, she was the one who handled it. Patricia had grown to admire and respect the young woman standing in front of her, mostly because she reminded her of herself at that age, young, driven, and destined for greatness.

"Prime Minister Ashcroft. It is lovely to see you again. Thank you so much for seeing me on such short notice." She said extending her hand to meet and shake hers. Patricia shook her head.

"Its Patricia, and a thank you is not necessary my dear. Please sit down." She said gesturing to a blue leather, Queen Anne style, wing-back armchair. Hermione did as she was told, as the Prime Minister took a seat behind her large desk. "Now then my dear. What is it that I can do for you today?" Hermione reached into the small briefcase she had brought with her and pulled out her crumpled copy of the Daily Prophet and a copy of the parchment that she had found earlier, though she doubted she would need it. She handed her the newspaper first, asking her to read the new law. She watched as she put on a pair of tortoise shell reading glasses before placing her attention on the document in front of her. Patricia's eyes grew wider with every written word. When she finished, she looked up at Hermione and shook her head, removing her glasses in the process. "Is this rubbish for real?"

"Unfortunately yes. It seems that our government has decided to play match maker without the consent of the people being affected."

"Well that is completely preposterous, not to mention a direct violation of your civil liberties." Hermione took a deep breath and smiled. She had been hoping for this reaction and only hoped what she said next would give her the answers she needed.

"Unfortunately Prime..., I mean Patricia, the magical world is still living in a somewhat archaic age and has yet to introduce certain civil liberties." Hermione watched as Patricia once again shook her head.

"It does not matter. In fact ..." She held up a finger, signaling Hermione to hold on for a moment. Hermione watched as she took a small key out of her suit jacket pocket and opened the top drawer of her desk. She pulled out a file, opened it, and pulled out a piece of parchment. Hermione could tell from just a quick glance that it was an exact copy of the parchment still in her hand. She watched as she put her reading glasses back on and quickly read over it, nodding when she was through. "Just as I thought." She said tapping the paper. "Not only is it in direct violation of your civil liberties, but also a direct violation of the treaty made between our world and your magical one."

"So they can not force these marriages upon us?" Hermione asked hopefully.

"Well yes and no." She replied. "It is not so much the law that is the issue, as it is the repercussions of not following it."

"Meaning?" Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes a bit.

"You see, your ministry, like any other government can write up any law they see fit. The punishment for not following the law however must abide by all other previous laws and rights. If your ministry chooses to imprison their pure-blooded population for not following the law, then they can because they have no laws saying otherwise. In your case however, you are first and foremost a muggle, which means that our worlds rules, especially civil liberties, are applicable. They can make you leave their world, but they most certainly cannot take away your birthright."

"Birthright?" Patricia looked at the woman across from her and smiled.

"My dear, you were born with magic in you. To take that away would be like taking the throne away from Her Majesty. Denying someone their birthright would break our civil liberties law and therefore break the treaty between our worlds." Hermione's eyes were wide. This was it. This was her answer.

"And if they were to break the treaty. What would the consequences be?" Patricia looked at her with a serious look.

"According to the terms written within the treaty, your entire world would be exposed to ours, and I don't need to remind you Miss Granger of how people react to the unexplained." Hermione nodded. She knew more than anyone what it was like to be on the opposite end of bigotry and prejudice and she new that if their world was exposed it would end in nothing but violence and death.

"So they can only banish us?" Patricia nodded. Hermione smiled and stood up, watching as she did the same. "Thank you so much Patricia. This will mean so much to so many." Patricia came around to Hermione's side of the desk and embraced her, knowing that this would most likely be the last time they saw each other. She stepped back after a few seconds and looked at Hermione with a curious expression.

"I must ask. Do you think you will be able to leave?" Hermione took a deep breath and thought about it for a second. As she slowly let out the breath, she nodded.

"It will be upsetting to leave a place I have called home for so long, but if it means choosing my own destiny, then so be it."

"Well then, my dear, I wish you the best."

"Thank you Patricia. I guess I should be going. I have a lot of planning to do." Patricia accompanied Hermione to the door.

"Oh Miss Granger. Please inform Minister Shacklebolt that I would like to have a word with him. Immediately." Hermione nodded.

"It would be my pleasure."

* * *

_**Ministry of Magic, later that day  
**_

Kingsley Shacklebolt was furious. He had been summoned to the British Prime Minister's office and had just spent the last two hours arguing with the woman about the new law. By the time he left, he new that changes would have to be made. The Prime Minister made it quite clear that if they dared to try and take away the muggle-borns magic or memories for non-compliance, she would consider it a breach of the treaty between their two worlds and their world would be exposed. Kingsley crossed his office and sat down behind his desk, leaning forward onto it and placing his head in his hands. If he wasn't so furious right then, he would have probably commended Hermione on her cleverness. Going to the Prime Minister had been a brilliant move on her part, but of course did he really expect any less from her. Unfortunately though, this now posed a very large problem for himself and the rest of the Wizengamot. There was absolutely no way that the law could be put into effect until the repercussions for the muggle-borns had been altered and at this point the only legal repercussion they could use was banishment. Even then, the banishment could only be from their magical community, leaving the option for the muggle-borns to travel to other magical communities and live there. This option would more than likely go over well with the muggle-borns, and Kingsley was willing to bet all the galleons in the Ministry treasury that a large percentage of them would in fact leave, draining the population even more. Kingsley ran his hands down his face and let out a groan as he slumped back into his chair. The process of matching the couples had already begun and would not be able to be stopped at this point. The letters were due to be delivered first thing Monday morning, which only gave him the weekend to find a viable answer to the problem at hand. "Excuse me Minister?" Kingsley looked up to see Percy standing in his doorway. "I knocked sir but you did not answer."

"What can I do for you Percy?" He asked, actually relieved to have the distraction.

"We received this while you were gone sir." He replied, walking over and handing him an envelope. Kingsley looked at the envelope, which had his name scrawled across it in neat and elegant handwriting. He knew by the writing that the letter was from Miss Granger and he had an inkling to what it was, although he truly hoped he was wrong. He motion for Percy to stay as he opened the letter and read what was inside.

"Bloody hell!" He said, slamming the letter down in front of him, startling Percy. It was as he feared. Miss Granger had turned in her resignation, meaning she was planning on leaving and he knew that once that fact got out, the rest would follow her lead. Something had to be done and fast.

"Minister?" He looked up at the young man, who was now fidgeting nervously in front of him, realizing that he had forgotten he was there.

"I need you to contact Chief Warlock Woodcroft. Tell him that an urgent matter has risen, concerning the new law that must be dealt with immediately and I am calling an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot, to commence first thing tomorrow morning." Percy nodded once before turning and hurrying out of the office. Kingsley let out a sigh. It was going to be one long weekend.

* * *

The moment she had returned from her meeting with Patricia, Hermione began the process of getting her new life in order. The first thing she did was send her patronus to Penelope, informing her that the British Prime Minister wanted to see the Minister immediately. She then sat at her desk and with her favorite quill wrote three letters. One was to American Minister of Magic, Whittier Perkins, informing him of the recent events and her desire to relocate there. When they had last seen one another, during a meeting of the International Confederation of Wizards, he had informed Hermione that if she ever wanted a change of climate, she was more than welcome to join his ministry in Salem, Massachusetts. Her second letter was to her friend Abigail Bently, an American half-blooded witch, that she met when the young woman was on holiday in England. Abigail was a real estate agent in both the wizarding and muggle world there and her letter was a request for help in finding a flat in wizarding America. Lastly, she wrote a letter of resignation to Kingsley, stating her need to leave due to the ridiculous law and knowing that when he received, he would have already realized that there was nothing he could do to stop her from leaving. She then called together her staff and told them of her plans, making sure they all knew how much she had appreciated working with each and every one of them. They were all shocked, to say the least, but they respected her decision and wished her the best before returning to their work. Now Hermione looked around her office for the last time. Her books were packed neatly into well labeled boxes, leaving the once full bookshelves empty. Her walls, that once held framed pictures and awards were now bare, as was her desk and every other surface in the room. She had shrunk everything down and placed it all into one easy to carry box which she now held in her arms. While she was looking forward to what was to come, she couldn't help but be a little saddened by the thought of what she was leaving behind. With a small sigh she turned and stepped through the door for the last time, shutting it behind her. She strode confidently towards the lift for the final time. She knew her friends were going to be upset by her departure but she had to do what was right for her, and being married off to some random person was not alright in her mind. Besides, she knew the law wouldn't last long, after all, what muggle-born was actually going to go along with this insanity now that they had the option of keeping their magic and just moving away. She gave it a few months before mostly all the muggle-borns left and they were repealing the law due to an even larger decline in the population. As Hermione stood before one of the Atrium fireplaces, she took one final look around before turning and floo'ing home.

* * *

_**Monday June 4th**_

_**Hermione's flat**_

"Hermione? Are you here?" The sound of Harry's voice carried through the now, empty flat.

"In here Harry!" Hermione called from the kitchen. She was standing at the small center island sipping a cup of tea. She looked up as her best friend of twelve years walked into the room followed by a heavily pregnant "Ginerva Potter! What are you doing out of bed? Healer Barlow told you complete bed rest until the baby is born!" Ginny sat down, rubbing her stomach.

"Please don't start Hermione! I've already had to be lectured the whole way here by him!" She said pointing a finger at her husband. "As I told Harry. I am fine. Little James is fine. Everyone is just fine." Hermione shook her head at the girl's stubbornness, but let it go.

"So," Harry asked, looking around. "Did you receive your letter?" Hermione nodded. Even though she had made her choice loud and clear, the ministry had still sent her the required letter of betrothal. "And?"

"And what?" She asked, not really sure why Harry cared. He knew that she had already made up her mind, so she wasn't quite sure why he was questioning her.

"Who were you matched with?" Hermione just shrugged.

"It doesn't really matter. I'm not going through with it after all." She turned and went to the sink to wash out her cup, completely missing the look of shock and confusion that were on both of her guests faces.

"But..." Harry started, only to stop after seeing his wife shake her head at him and mouth the words, "its her choice". Hermione turned back and looked at them.

"But what Harry? You know how I feel about this and nothing is going to change my mind on that fact." She really didn't understand why Harry seemed so distraught. He didn't even know who the ministry chose for her, hell, she didn't even know. She really didn't want to know who the ministry deemed good enough for her, so she had just tossed the letter into a shoebox along with some other letters she had lying about. She watched as Harry and Ginny shared a private look. "What is it? Why are you acting so strangely?" This time Ginny answered.

"We just want to make u that you really want to do this. You are leaving everything you know behind. Your job, your home, us." Hermione could feel tears welling up in her eyes. She ran forward and hugged her friend.

"Oh Ginny! It will all be okay. You can come visit me when ever you want, and I can visit you in muggle London. You'll see. It will be fine."

"But the bloke you ..." A ringing sound interrupted his words. Hermione looked down at her watch. "Oh! The time flew by. My portkey to America is going to leave in fifteen minutes. Wait here." She said before hurrying off to grab her things.

"I can't believe shes going to really leave. Who ever she got must have been really bad for her to allow ..." Ginny stopped as Hermione entered the room pulling a black suitcase, which she had all of her shrunken belongings in, behind her.

"Well this is it." She said smiling at the two of them. Ginny slowly stood up and waddled over to her, throwing her arms around her best friend.

"I'm going to miss you." She said, tears streaming down her face.

"I'm going to miss you to Gin, but don't worry. I have a feeling we will be together again soon." Hermione said, still figuring that the law wouldn't last long after all the muggle-borns left. Ginny stepped back to let Harry have his chance to say goodbye.

"Do you have to leave right now?" Harry whispered in her ear as he hugged her tightly. Hermione nodded.

"I have to apparate to Stoatshead Hill where a ministry official will be waiting with my portkey. International portkeys are hard to acquire so they can not just be left lying around like a normal portkey." Harry gave a small nod, kissed her cheek, and took a step back.

"You take care of yourself Hermione." He said as she pulled out her wand.

"I will Harry. I promise." She ran forward and gave the two of them one last hug before stepping back, grabbing hold of her suitcase, and with one final, teary smile she turned on her heel and apparated away toward her new life.

* * *

**AN ~ So what did you all think of Hermione's loophole? I've always felt that the fact that Hermione was a muggle first is lost on some authors. I really wanted to use that fact to my advantage in this story. After all, if those non-magical folk who know about the wizarding world have to follow their rules, I believe they should have to follow the muggle rules as well. How do you all feel about it. **

**Now don't think that Hermione has won. Its seems that Harry and Ginny know something that they believe Hermione already knows. I'm thinking that maybe the "Gryffindor bookworm" should have read her letter. Until next time, keep reading, writing, and imagining!**


	4. Stipulation

******Disclaimer ~ ****As it has been since I started writing Dramione fanfics, I do not own anything but the plot. All recognizable and even some unrecognizable characters belong to their creator JK Rowling.**

* * *

**********A.N. ~ Hello everyone. The summer is a busy time for me so my updates will be a few weeks apart. This chapter went through some re-writes because I just could not get it to the standard I wanted, however I just couldn't leave you guys hanging any longer. So here is the next chapter of OSM and I should let you know that the incident that Hermione tells her friends about is based on something that actually happened to Emma Watson while she was attending college here in the States. I'll explain more at the end of the chapter. I also have decided to give a Dramione story shoutout at the end of each chapter, showcasing some of my favorite Dramiones. Enjoy!**

* * *

_**********One Simple Mistake**_

**********Chapter 3: Stipulation  
**

**********_Hermione's Home_  
**

**********_5 Cauldron Court, Salem, MA, USA  
_**

**********_June 3, 2006_**

* * *

**Three years later …**

The three years that had passed since Hermione said good-bye to wizarding England had been surprisingly wonderful. She had arrived in Salem and with some help from Abigail, had found herself the perfect house. The three bedroom, sage green colored colonial, had a large yard and wrap-around porch and had everything she was looking for and more. When first entering the home you found yourself in a small foyer with a closet and half bathroom on the left side and the entrance to the formal dining room on the right. If you continued straight ahead you passed a staircase that led to the second floor before entering a large living room, which opened up to an updated kitchen and small breakfast nook. Upstairs there was a master suite, two more bedrooms, one of which she used as her office and the other as a guest room, laundry, and another full bathroom. She loved it so much that she made an offer right there and then and was overjoyed when it was accepted immediately.

With her home taken care of she then went to talk to Minister of Magic Perkins about what job opportunities he had for her, and she couldn't have been happier with the position she was offered. Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic was the highest position you could have in any ministry, a position that placed you second to only the Minister themselves. The recent Undersecretary had been due to retire a few weeks before Hermione arrived, however Minister Perkins was having a terrible time finding someone worthy of taking over the position. When he had received Hermione's letter he knew she would be perfect for the job, not to mention exactly what their ministry needed. She accepted right away, of course, and a week later she found herself in a very posh looking office, directly across from the minister's own. She loved her job, especially all the responsibility it gave her. She liked feeling needed and appreciated and if she was being honest with herself, hadn't felt that way since seventh year when she, Harry, and Ron had been hunting horcruxes. She had been happy when she left England and had only gotten happier with each passing day. Little did she know it was all about to come crashing down.

* * *

"So, I realize I forgot to bring my towel in with me, but I figured, hey we're all teammates here, and it's not like any of the other blokes hadn't walked around in the buff once or twice before; so I decide to just go for it and started walking over to where the lockers were. Imagine my surprise when I walked around the corner and there was a group of tourists, cameras and all, being given a tour of the locker room. I'm pretty sure I squealed like a little girl before grabbing the nearest item to cover myself with, which just happened to be a small waste paper basket, before trying to scurry backwards out of the room." Tears of amusement streamed down Hermione's face as she continued to laugh at the thought of Ron's predicament. For the first time in the three years since she left England, Harry, Ginny, and Ron had come to visit her. It wasn't that they hadn't wanted to see her, but with Harry being promoted to Head of the Auror office; Ginny having James to take care of plus her job as senior Quidditch correspondent for the Daily Prophet; Ron's Quidditch schedule (he had followed his dream to become Keeper for the Chudley Cannons); and Hermione's own hectic schedule, finding time for them all to be together had been nearly impossible. They had sent many letters to one another and tried to keep up on each others lives, but it just wasn't the same as hearing it straight from the source. So, after a lot of owling and floo calling back and forth they had finally found a weekend that her three best friends could come and visit with her. They had arrived first thing that morning and had spent the entire day catching up, only stopping for lunch, and even then the stories hadn't stopped. Now they were all sitting on her porch watching the sun set and listening to Ron share a rather embarrassing tale about how a scandalous picture of him in the buff had appeared in a recent wizarding tabloid.

"Oh Ron," Hermione said, after calming herself. "That must have been just awful for you!" Ginny let out a snort.

"Awful for him? I would be more worried about the poor lot who had to look at that!" This made Harry laugh even harder. "The person who sold that photo probably did it to pay for the eye surgery they had to have after seeing that sight!"

"Laugh it up Gin. Its not like you've never had something embarrassing happen to you." Ron said, his face turning a lovely shade of pink. Harry wiped a tear from the corner of his eye before speaking.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist Ron. After all, everyone has had some embarrassing incident happen to them at one point or another." Ron shook his head and pointed his thumb towards Hermione.

"Not our Hermione here. She was always too prim and proper to do anything to put herself in a position of possible embarrassment." Hermione stopped laughing and looked down at the porch slats, her cheeks reddening. "Or maybe she has." Ron said, as he notice the change in their friends demeanor. Ginny's eyes lit up in anticipation.

"Out with it Hermione. What did you do?" Hermione shook her head. "Oh come on now. It couldn't have been that bad."

"And besides. I told you mine, so now its only fair for you to tell us yours." Ron said, leaning back and crossing his arms in front of him.

"It is only fair Hermione." Harry said taking a sip from his glass. "We promise not to judge you." Hermione looked at her friends and sighed.

"Fine, but please try to keep your laughing to a minimum."

"We promise." the three said in unison. Hermione took a deep breath and told them her story.

"Well, there's a bit of a language barrier here, isn't there. For example; what we call a plaster, they call a bandage or band-aid." Her friends nodded. "You see, it was my first day as Undersecretary to the Minister and I was in my office writing some memos that were supposed to have been sent out days before. Now you must understand that the American Ministry is very modern and they prefer to use muggle tools such as pens and pencils instead of quills. I hadn't purchased any yet and was using one that the former Undersecretary had left behind. It was quite gross really. All chewed up and missing its rubber. I was practically done with the memo I was writing when I realized I had made an error. I was in a bit of a panic, being that these documents were already so late, so I hurried out of my office and into the cubicle area and yelled quite loudly that I was in desperate need of a rubber." Hermione stopped then, feeling her cheeks go warm as they turned bright red.

"And ..." Ginny asked sitting forward in her seat. Hermione took another deep breath and blurted the rest out.

"And I was met with shocked looks from most of the women, a few ogling stares from the men, and uncontrollable laughter from the others.

"Why in the world would you get those responses from asking for a rubber?" Harry asked curiously. Hermione dropped her head and mumbled something. "Sorry? What was that?" Hermione looked at them all with a look of complete mortification on her face.

"Because in America rubbers are called erasers and condoms are called rubbers. I basically ran out of my office yelling that I was in desperate need of a condom!" There was complete silence, and Hermione thought that they were actually going to keep their promise to not laugh. She was wrong. All three burst into laughter, with Ron laughing so hard that he fell straight out of his seat and on to the porch where he proceeded to continue to laugh. "It's not funny! I was completely mortified when I was told."

"Oh Hermione. I'm sorry but that is just priceless." Ginny said holding her stomach as she laughed, drawing Hermione's attention to the small bump that she hadn't noticed before.

"Ginny?" Hermione said, staring at her friend's stomach. "Are you pregnant?" Hermione asked.. Ginny and Harry looked at each other and smiled before nodding.

"Three months along now." Harry said kissing his wife's cheek. Hermione jumped up and hugged both of them before turning to look at Ron who had finally stopped laughing and was seated back in his chair.

"Did you know about this?"

"Of course I did. Granted Mum told me before Gin got the chance." Ginny shook her head angrily.

"You would think that after giving the news of her own pregnancies seven times, she would give me the courtesy of sharing my own. Remember how she told Bill and Fleur of my pregnancy with James, not to mention half of Diagon Alley." Hermione smiled at her.

"I'm so happy for you. James must be so excited at the prospect of having a little brother or sister."

"Hes quite happy about it. It's all he talks about these days." Hermione felt her smile drop a little.

"I wish I could be there for the birth." She said quietly, sobering up the others with her words.

"Me too Hermione. I really would have loved to have you there when James was born." Hermione took a sip of her tea.

"I know. I guess I thought that the stupid law would have been repealed by now. You know with all the muggles leaving and such." All three friends glanced at one another strangely. "What was that look for?" Harry rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

"Um Hermione. You're the only person who left."

"What?" Hermione said shocked by the news. Ginny gave her friend a small smile and shrugged.

"The law has actually worked Hermione. There have been over fifty children born just this past year."

"And their have been very few issues with the matches themselves." Harry said. "Only had two incidents of unforgivables being cast."

"I knew it! I knew that the muggles would be in danger! I told Kings ..."

"Actually Hermione," Ron interrupted. "It wasn't the pure-bloods who cast the spells." Hermione's eyes widened in surprise.

"Two muggle-borns had to be arrested for casting the Cruciatus." Harry replied. "In normal circumstances they would have been immediately thrown into Azkaban, but due to the law there were exceptions made. They were placed under house arrest and the Ministry placed magical restrictions on their wands."

"Overall, the matches seem to be spot on." A scoff from Ron made Ginny roll her eyes. "True, some of them did seem strange in the beginning, like Blaise Zabini and Penelope Clearwater "

"Or Pansy Parkinson and Justin Finch-Fletchley, or Astoria Greengrass and Dennis Creevey." Harry added. Ginny glared at Harry and swatted him on the arm.

"As I was saying." She said turning her attention back to Hermione. "The law is actually working out quite well." Hermione shook her head in disbelief.

"But I was so certain that the others would leave. Penelope seemed to be completely against the idea and so did some of the other muggle-borns."

"Well, you see, no one else was … strong enough, to do what you did." Harry said interrupting her.

"Not that we blame you." Ron said. "I mean I sure as bloody hell wouldn't have wanted to marry Malfoy if I were you either." Hermione, who had just taken a large sip of tea, quickly choked on it, spraying it everywhere. Ginny jumped up and gently patted her friends back as she coughed and sputtered.

"Malfoy! They matched me up with Malfoy!" She ranted. "I mean I knew they were idiots when they made that stupid law, but to match me with Malfoy just proves that they are all utterly insane!" Hermione missed the looks that were being passed between her friends. She was to busy trying to understand how she could have possibly been matched up with the ferret. She had to admit that intelligence wise he was right on her level, always coming just a point or two short on beating her in classes. She also would have to admit that based on what she had seen since the war, he had changed his opinion on blood status. He had created multiple charities to help not only wizard orphans affected by the war, but muggle ones too. He had taken Malfoy Industries into the muggle world, buying up companies on the verge of collapse and building them up into profitable organizations. _And I guess he's not hard on the eyes. _She thought.

"Um ... Hermione?" Hermione looked up at them. "Why do you seem so surprised?" Harry asked her.

"You just told me Draco Malfoy was to be my betrothed! How did you think I would react?"

"But you knew that already Hermione." Ginny said confused by the whole thing. Hermione shook her head.

"No I didn't. Believe me, if I did Kingsley would have heard a few more words from my mouth before I left."

"But Hermione you told us you read your letter." Ginny replied. Hermione shook her head.

"No. I told you I received my letter, however I thought it was ridiculous that Kingsley even bothered to send me one so I didn't even open it. Just threw it in a shoe box with some other random junk." Hermione watched her friends throw looks of worry back and forth between the three of them. "What is going on? Why are you looking at each other like that." Harry stared at Ginny, shaking his head back and forth.

"I told you Gin. We should have said something that day. I knew she wouldn't put someone through that." Harry said, ignoring her words.

"I know Harry but its Hermione. I never would have thought she wouldn't have read the letter."

"I still don't see the problem. Serves the bastard right if you ask me." Ron said with a shrug. Hermione had, had enough.

"Will someone please tell me whats going on?" She said standing up and placing her hands on her hips. Harry sighed.

"Do you still have that letter Hermione?" She nodded. "I think you best go read it." Hermione looked at him oddly. Why in the world would he want her to read a pointless, three year old letter.

"But Harry …"

"Hermione, the Wizengamot met the day after Kingsley spoke to the British Prime Minister. They came up with a stipulation for the muggles if they chose banishment. Its the reason the other muggles didn't leave." Hermione's heart beat faster as Harry's words became clear.

"What was the stipulation Harry?"

* * *

Shocked, mortified, repulsed. There really was no answer to what Hermione was feeling at that moment. Harry refused to tell her what the stipulation was and insisted that she read the letter for herself. She had rushed up to her walk-in closet where she kept her Hogwarts trunk, which contained the shoe box with the letter in it. She barely heard Harry enter her room as she sat down on the edge of her bed and turned the letter over and over in her hands. Part of her wanted to appease her curiosity and rip the letter open, while the other part was terrified at what the contents might say. After taking a few calming breaths she turned the letter over, broke the bronze colored seal, and pulled out the letter.

_**Dear **_**Miss Granger,**

_**As reported in last weeks Daily Prophet, Marriage Law 103179, has recently been put into effect. We at the Ministry hope that this new law will bring a permanent end to the issue of blood purity within our world, while at the same time increasing our population. As stated all eligible witches and wizards have been matched based upon their AWR to insure both biological and intellectual compatibility. With that being said, we are pleased to inform you that your betrothed is**_

**Draco Lucius Malfoy**_**. **_

_** You and your betrothed must marry no later then eight months from receipt of this letter and you must decide upon and inform the Ministry of your chosen wedding date no later then two weeks from receipt of this letter. Once the Ministry has been informed of a date St. Mungo's will contact you concerning your required physical.**_

_** The law is mandatory and there are penalties for those who choose not to abide by it.**_

_** *A**_**_ll non-complying, pure-blooded wizards and witches shall be arrested and locked in Azkaban until they choose to comply with the new law or until their death. _**

**_ Due to a conflict between Marriage Law 103179 and The Muggle Treaty of 1725 the penalty _****_written in the Daily Prophet for the muggle-borns has been changed. Muggle wizard and witches may keep their wands and their memories, however the following new penalty stands._**

**_ *All non-complying, muggle-born wizards and witches will be banished from wizarding England. They may relocate to another wizarding country if they so choose, however know this. Any muggle-born witch or wizard who does choose banishment will be sentencing their betrothed to life in Azkaban. The only way the betrothed will be released is if another muggle-born witch or wizard is matched with them; the muggle-born decides to return and follow the law; or upon their death._**

She had stopped reading after that and now she was sitting next to Harry crying into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Hermione." He whispered to her. Hermione pulled back, her eyes red and puffy.

"What are you sorry for Harry? You're not the person who condemned an innocent man to life in Azkaban." She stood up and walked over to her vanity to get a tissue.

"I should have questioned your actions more. I knew you would never deliberately put someone in Azkaban. Even if it was Malfoy." Hermione wiped her eyes and blew her nose.

"I may have never gotten along with Malfoy, and he may have been an absolute prat to us in school, but he does not deserve to be in Azkaban. Not for this!" Hermione ran her fingers through her hair. At the end of the war the Malfoy family had been arrested and placed on trial for their crimes. Malfoy had avoided Azkaban due to his change of allegiance in the final battle and other pieces of evidence including testimony from the trio regarding his reluctance to identify them at the Manor. Malfoy had gotten a second chance at life and unlike some of the others who had packed up and left England, beliefs still in hand, he had gone above and beyond to prove that he was taking that chance seriously. To know that he had spent the last three years of his life in Azkaban due to her actions was eating her up inside. Yes, he had gone out of his way to make her life hell in school, but Hermione could not hold Malfoy completely accountable for his actions. How could she when he had grown up having those ideals drilled into his head and knew of nothing else.

"What happens now?" Harry asked her. Hermione looked up at him. As much as she loved her life there, she knew that she would never be able to move on knowing that Malfoy was sitting in a prison cell just because she wouldn't marry him. With a defeated sigh she answered him.

"Well, it's quite obvious isn't it. I have to go back."

* * *

**Emma Watson was on Dave Letterman and told a story about how there was a language barrier between her and some of her dorm mates. She spoke about very loudly asking for a rubber when she needed an eraser. She said it was quite embarrassing. If you want to see it just go to youtube and type Emma Watson needs a band-aid into the search. It's really funny. I would love to know what you all thought of this chapter and thumbs up to those who caught on to what the stipulation was going to be.**

**Story shout out ~ The Request by Redhead414  
**


End file.
